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@straphanger@urbanists.socialHere's @amtrak 's Train 41, southbound, during a "stretch-and-smoke" stop in #Jacksonville, Florida.
I rode the train for 52 hours, from #Chicago to #Miami.
I highly recommend the experience, as long as...
...you can sleep in a bedroom, or a roomette.
(Two nights trying to sleep in upright seats in coach is pretty hard on the back.)
Sure, it's more expensive than flying.
But you save on two nights in hotels, and you get six free meals—good ones, too—and you have an experience you'd never get in a pressurized bubble at 20,000 feet.
I write about my odyssey on The Floridian, through 10 states and over 2,000 miles, in this week's HIGH SPEED dispatch:
@straphanger saving on 2 nights in hotels you would otherwise spend in own bed is a weird take
@martenson Uh, people pay a fortune to sleep on cruise ships, rather than in their own beds.
If you don't like to travel, then sleeping in your own bed will always win by default.
@straphanger I actually do like train sleeper cars quite a lot. It is just that this comparison with airplanes falls short for me.
@straphanger I'd really like to see micro sleepers on Amtrak like they have in Japan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBnvAAYQag0 Of course at a proportionally reduced fare.
@straphanger I’d love to hear your take on training from west to east coast and back. Is it possible?
@woolie You have to change in Chicago.
Empire Builder or SW Chief from the west coast to Chicago; then Lake Shore Limited to NYC, or Floridian to DC.
@straphanger anything that can get to Montreal from US west coast or is that multiples + busses and stuff. PS: thx for response
@straphanger @amtrak
Another approach is slower travel. No more than one night at a time in coach, stopping in interesting places. Typical decent hotels are usually cheaper than Amtrak roometes. Along this route, for example, Harper's Ferry. The Amtrak travel pass works well for this.